Riftangel
by Torchedgirl
Summary: TORCHWOOD: When a riftquake throws up a young creature the team must find her origins and figure out how she can help them.Chap 6 is UP!
1. Riftquake

AN: those who liked my other fics…this one will blow your socks off. Here you go.

Riftangel

Chapter one

Riftquake

"Another quake coming, 8.6. Hold on!" Shouted Tosh over the din of screeching machines and the rumble of earth shifting beneath the team's feet.

Owen hung onto the rail near the autopsy room, a protective arm around Gwen's waist. She was clinging to his torso, shaking with fear. Ianto was clinging to the doorframe of the kitchen; his eyes were closed in a silent prayer.

Jack had his arms wrapped round Tosh. They were standing by her computer that was beeping loudly; she was clinging to the desk as the ground beneath them buckled under the strain of the rift.

Suddenly part of the roof crashed near Owen and Gwen sending sparks over them. Owen ducked and pulled Gwen closer. She screeched in pain as a metal shard pierced her side, blood oozing from the wound.

And as soon as the quake started…it stopped. The machines fell silent and the quakes dissipated. The only sound that could be heard was Gwen's rasping breaths.

"Ok is everyone ok? Sound off, Ianto?" Cried Jack

"Here…" Ianto coughed from the doorframe. He slid down the wall slowly and panted silently.

"Tosh?"

"Fine" She choked, Jack patted her shoulder.

"Owen?"

"Yeah…I'm alive" Owen looked up and glanced at the scene…not pretty.

"Gwen?"

"…Help…me" She gasped from Owen's side. The others looked over at Gwen and gasped. Owen looked down and swore.

"Owen what happened?" Shouted Jack as he ran over. Owen wasn't paying attention. He had scrambled to his feet and was busy scooping Gwen up into his arms. He bolted down to his medical table and laid her down. Jack and Tosh followed; Ianto was still slumped on the floor. Gwen's eyes fluttered open and she stared at Owen, she groaned and her hand went down to the wound. She felt the blood at her side and screamed. Owen turned with his supplies and calmed her down.

"Keep still alright." He set to work on the wound while Tosh and Jack watched. Jack realised that Ianto hadn't moved, he patted Tosh on the shoulder and sauntered over.

"You ok?"

"Fine sir. Just a little shocked…I'll be fine." Mumbled Ianto. He them shakily got to his feet. He gasped suddenly. Jack stared at Ianto's leg, there was blood dribbling from a large gash on his shin. Jack put an arm round his shoulder and ruffled his hair and helped him towards the medical bay where Owen was patching up Gwen. Ianto gasped again as

Jack laid him down on the spare bed.

Owen had patched up Gwen; she sat on the bed shivering. Owen helped her slip off the table and helped her back up to her station. He then went back and helped Ianto. It wasn't as bad as it looked. Ianto apologised for the fuss, but Owen told him to keep quiet…and not die.

Tosh was busily tapping at her computer trying to find out the damage to the Rift. Ever since the Rift had been torn open and then put back again it had grew more volatile.

Weevils were appearing more often and the amount of alien junk that was thrown out was startling. It didn't help that Jack had disappeared for a week, he then had the nerve to saunter back to the hub without any explanation. If Tosh remembered correctly, it was something to with the right doctor and some other rubbish that the others had thrown a tantrum over. He had come back to pure ice; he got the clod shoulder from all the team. More Ianto than anything. At one point they had a blazing row in Jack's office, Ianto had come from the office with a face that could burn metal.

Jack didn't come from the room for hours. When he did he was unnaturally quiet and simply went into the kitchen where Ianto was washing up…with some force.

After that everyone warmed up to Jack again and got back to work.

"No major damage…surprisingly. I think I know why the Rift has been acting like this though." Tosh pointed out. The team looked up from where they were standing.

"Reports are coming in of an…angelic creature. Female, slim build…white wings." Tosh looked up to the puzzled faces.

"Ok. I guess we should check it out. Gwen you're injured so you stay put. Owen, Tosh you're with me."

Gwen didn't object, which surprised Jack. Tosh and Owen geared up and said their goodbyes. Owen guided Gwen to the sofa and hugged her; Tosh waved from the steel door. Jack whispered something to Ianto and ruffled Gwen's hair and followed the troupe. On Jack's orders Ianto brought Gwen a strong cup of coffee and sat down with her. Her put an arm round her waist, careful of the bandages and pulled her close. She soon fell asleep on him and Ianto peeled her away so he could clean the devastation.

"Bloody Owen. This is all his fault." Ianto mumbled to himself. Which was entirely true, Owen had many times since the Abbadon incident taken the blame. He now simply sits and takes the abuse trying to ignore the fact that he had indeed…fucked up reality.

In the SUV Jack hurtled down the roads to the scene where the…whatever the hell it was, was last sighted.

Jack pulled up outside of a police barrier and everyone bundled out of the SUV. The officers around the area mumbled as the team sauntered past the barrier and up to a white figure. The figure was still and silent. It was like an oval shape, feathered in appearance.

Owen realised that the thing was injured and hurried up to help it. Owen walked forwards towards the…thing, he took small steps, he feared that the creature was unfriendly.

Suddenly the creature moved. The creature wasn't oval shaped after all. One of the creature's wings unfurled and stretched out. Owen stumbled backwards and promptly fell on his backside. The other wing unfurled revealing a slender figure. 'Definitely female' thought Owen as the…woman lifted her body from the floor. Jack had pulled his gun from his holster and aimed it at the woman.

She lifted her slender body from the ground. She couldn't have been older than 19, she looked up from the ground and over to Owen.

Her electric blue eyes stared at Owen. It was like she was piercing his soul. She cast a glance over to Jack, upon seeing the gun her eyes widened. Her eyes then rolled into her head and she fainted, the audience breathed a sigh of relief. Owen got up and checked the woman over.

In his opinion she was a perfectly normal woman, 19 years old with injuries from a fall. The only thing 'wrong' with her was the fact that she had white wings. Owen was no vet, but he could tell a broken wing when he saw her right one.

Jack and Owen carefully carried her to the SUV and made their way back to the Hub. Owen kept glancing back at the woman, maybe this was the reason that the Rift was acting up. Maybe Tosh was right.

Ianto had decided to take his mind off the pain in his leg by rearranging the archives. He did this quite often now; he lost himself in the wealth of knowledge that was held in the halls.

Ianto didn't hear the others carry the new resident into the Hub.

They set her on Owen's autopsy table and he began a full diagnosis.

"Three broken ribs, slight concussion and I know I'm not a vet, but that wing looks like it's broken. Though I'll do an X-ray in a sec'"

Tosh and Jack had remained silent through the diagnosis. Jack had checked on Gwen after the creature was tended to. She woke up from and smiled at attention.

The creature was then placed in a cell. Jack wondered where Ianto was; he wanted him to see their new friend.

Jack suddenly remembered that Ianto liked to hide in the archives. So he thought he would leave Ianto to his studies and tell him later.

Meanwhile Owen was running tests on blood that he had collected from the creature. He cast his mind to Gwen. He thought she was too quiet for his liking. He was about to look for her when his computer finished his analysis…Owen was shocked by the results.

"This…this cant be…she's…human."

R&R. Plz. I hope you like.


	2. Lily

AN: ok here is the next chapter. This is for my two best friends, kez and hannah. Hope u like it!!!!

Chapter 2

Lily

He couldn't move. He stumbled backwards, this couldn't be!

"Jack…Jack get here. You…you have to see this." Choked Owen.

Jack walked over and looked at the screen. He then looked back at Owen, then back to the screen. He breathed in deeply through his nose and scratched the back of his head.

"What am I looking at?" he asked casually.

Owen snapped out of his daze and tapped at the computer keys. A new screen flashed up.

It showed an image of a 3D human. Then a load of graphs popped up on the page. Jack looked at them and shrugged his shoulders.

"Look at this. Right this is an average human," explained Owen. "And this is our new lodger…notice a similarity?"

"…Yeah…but, that means that…she's human!" Jack asked, realising what Owen was showing him.

"She has the same structure and everything." Owen gasped Owen tapped at the computer again. Two, 3D DNA structures came up. Both were the same from a distance, Jack looked closer, there were slight differences.

"What are those? It's the same shape but…not." Jack pondered aloud.

Owen tapped at the keys again; the strange parts of the DNA pulled away from the main structure and sat at the side. An analysis of the strands scrolled up the page. Owen read them as fast as they came. His eyebrows raised at intervals.

Jack had called the rest of the team to the boardroom, deciding that Ianto would be too busy to listen.

"Right…I think I've got this now. Is everyone in the boardroom?"

"Yeah, what is it then?" Asked Jack, but Owen had already run up to the boardroom. Jack followed suit.

Gwen and Tosh looked at each other. Jack had been hazy on the details of this meeting, just that it was imperative that they went up to the boardroom fast.

Owen burst into the boardroom and set up the plasma screen, he was frantic. Gwen had never seen him put so much work into something work related.

Jack came in and sat down. Gwen asked where Ianto was, Jack said that he needed to calm down after the quake and he didn't want to disturb him.

Owen then cleared his throat, ready to tell the others the news.

"It looks like our friend is…human." Stumbled Owen. The collective gasps from the girls spurred him on.

"If you look at the DNA, she has the same DNA as us…only there's some parts that have been added." Owen pulled up the screen that Jack had seen.

"Added? Like what?" Asked Gwen looking closely at the extra DNA.

"Well I cross referenced it and there is something from a very familiar animal." Replied Owen, he tapped at his PDA and the animal came up on the screen just as Gwen began to speak.

"Animal…what do you…" She stopped speaking as she stared at the bird on the screen.

"An eagle?" Asked Tosh.

"Yep. Seems that whoever our friend stayed with liked to splice genes. Here are the genes that depict what limbs an average human will grow, it has been replaced with an eagle gene." Explained Owen, rather impressed by what he was seeing.

"But this is years ahead of our time." Pointed out Jack. He had sat back and remained silent, listening to what Owen was saying.

"She could have been thrown from another time through the Rift? We get all sorts of junk that is centuries ahead of us." Analysed Gwen.

Owen folded his arms and scratched his chin with his nails.

"Could be…but I found something more disturbing on her left ankle…" He tapped at the PDA again, a shot of a pale skinned and dainty ankle flashed up. There was a disturbingly familiar tattoo just above the small bone that shunned from the side.

"That…that cant be what it looks like? Can it?" Choked Tosh.

"We did this to her, that's our logo!" Cried Gwen, she rose from her seat and went up to the plasma screen. She ran her finger over the black lines.

It was the unmistakable logo of Torchwood; the stark hexagonal shapes scored into the creature's skin made Gwen's blood run cold.

"Owen…check what experiments Torchwood has done in their history, Tosh I want to know if there is anything on our records about a winged woman _anywhere _in the world. Gwen, we need to find Ianto."

As the team disbanded and Gwen and Jack made their way to the archives Gwen asked Jack…

"Why do we need to find Ianto?"

"Because he knows the archives back to front and could help us identify our friend." Jack replied, he remained silent for some time.

"We need a name for her, cant call her 'creature' or 'alien', cuz she's human." Said Jack thoughtfully, looking at Gwen.

"Ianto is the one who names everything, though I think we may have to do it ourselves. I like the idea but 'stun gun' and 'life knife' could have had a little more thought put into them." Chuckled Gwen. Jack followed, his guffaw echoed down the dank corridors.

Just then Ianto came up from one of the lower levels, he was limping slightly. _'The morphine must have worn off' _thought Gwen.

"Ah, talk of the devil!" Called Jack to Ianto. He looked up suddenly, like his mind was elsewhere.

"Something you need Sir?" Asked Ianto.

"I need you to have a look at our new resident, identify her…oh and she needs a name but I can't think of any." Answered Jack, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Of…course. Can't you find anything on her on the computers Sir?" Asked Ianto. He was curious to why Jack hadn't used the Hub computers; the team never asked him about anything from the archives.

"We have got the computers, but the thing that I want may be in the older sections, all the really old stuff hasn't been updated to the system yet. And you may be quicker." Said Jack, poking a finger into Ianto's chest.

Ianto sighed in realisation and followed Gwen and Jack down to the cells. Ianto asked if Gwen was all right, she nodded and asked the same of Ianto. He simply shrugged and said that the pain was getting a little bit unbearable. He joked that he would sooner die though, than have Owen prescribe a drug that would probably make his see groovy colours.

Gwen laughed and put a hand to her mouth, thinking that Ianto was being horrid towards Owen.

They reached the cells and Jack pointed to where the new resident was being held.

In the cell, was a small woman, she was curled in a ball. Her delicate wings furled underneath her back.

Ianto stepped back and gasped.

"You…cant be here…they said they killed you." He gasped.

"Who Ianto, who killed her." Asked Jack, he stood in front of Ianto and shook his shoulders gently.

Ianto pushed Jack away and walked back to the cell door. He took in a deep breath at her stark beauty.

"…Lily?" He called to the woman.

Her eyes flared open and stared at him.

"Please, where am I? Are you here to help me?"

Hate to leave it there but im busy. LOL


	3. The Ultimate Soldier

AN: Next chapter is here. I have just watched a doctor who addition of weakest link…and david tennant and john barrowman were voted off. Sadness.

So here is the next chapter for all of you lot that are gripped by the story. Lunalovegood 5…this is 4 u m8!!!

Chapter 3

The ultimate soldier

He placed his hand on the cold glass; she shifted from the floor and placed her hand in the same position on the other side of the glass. A single tear trickled down her cheek as she gazed into Ianto's eyes.

"How did you get here?" He asked softly.

"I…want to get out of here. Please…let me out and I promise I will tell you everything." Lily pleaded.

Ianto turned to face Jack and Gwen. Jack had his arms folded across his chest, he was thinking silently. Gwen on the other hand was edging closer to the glass. Lily stepped back suddenly and cowered away.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I promise." Assured Gwen Lily's expression changed from fear, to curiosity. She placed foot in front of foot towards Gwen and cocked her head to the side. Gwen smiled, Lily smiled back.

Jack walked forwards to greet Lily. Upon seeing Jack however her eyes showed complete terror. She ran from the edge of the cell to the back and cried out.

"Please, stay back…please don't shoot me…please!" She shrieked, shaking her head. She slumped to the floor muttering incoherently. Ianto stared at Jack with a look of utter bemusement.

Jack then realised that he had aimed his Webley at Lily when at the scene where she was found.

"I assure you that I won't shoot you…see." Jack pulled out his gun and tossed it across the cell area. Lily looked up at the noise and sniffed. Tears were running down her white cheeks.

Jack opened the cell doors and stood waiting.

Ianto moved closer to her and offered a hand to help her off the ground. She gasped as she got up; her ribs were probably giving her grief. Ianto made a mental note to ask Owen for some more painkillers. He smiled as she grasped his hand and he squeezed back to let her know that she was safe. Her wings flexed as she was guided out of the cells and into the main Hub area.

Owen and Toshiko were sat at their stations as the four figures walked into the Hub. Owen smiled and waved as Lily looked at him. She smiled and raised her hand to wave, but was frightened when the pterodactyl swooped near her. She squealed and hid behind Ianto, clinging to his suit. He chuckled and told her that Myfwanwy was harmless. He steered her round to see Tosh. She grinned and waved, this time Lily didn't wave she just smiled half-heartedly, still searching if the coast was clear.

Ianto guided Lily into the boardroom and sat her down. He left her to prepare beverages for the team so that Lily could tell her story. He came back and found her clinging to Jack's arm for protection. Jack mumbled something about her feeling scared without Ianto and needed a hug. Ianto smiled and placed himself next to Lily, who switched from Jack's arm to Ianto.

The team settled down and looked at Lily.

"Ok, first off…intro's. I'm cap'tain Jack Harkness, that is Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper…"

"Dr Owen Harper, Jack…" interrupted Owen.

"And the handsome man you are clinging to is Ianto Jones. So…who are you?" finished Jack.

Lily looked at the others, then to Ianto, he nodded at her and she took in a deep breath.

"My…my name is experiment eight zero two, codename…Lily. I was created in a Laboratory in London in the year 1940. The scientists…were part of Torchwood. They spliced my DNA using a piece of alien technology that fell through a Rift near Glasgow soon after Torchwood was created. I was created to finish the war, as the Royal family was in danger."

Lily stopped and looked away, memories flooding back.

"I was due to train when my wings were fully formed, Torchwood knew that the war would happen and thought in advance. On the day of my first exercise I… was dragged into a strange light. It was like heaven, and then it felt like there were walls crushing me on all sides. Then…I fell and landed here. Where am I? What happened to me?"

The others had kept silent though her speech, gasping in places. Lily huddled closer to Ianto and sobbed silently.

"You're in the 21st Century, the war ended over fifty years ago. We are Torchwood Cardiff. Torchwood London was destroyed a little over two years ago. A wandering Rift pulled you in. There are many of these scattered through time. I expect that you were briefed on what Torchwood does?" Explained Jack.

Lily nodded and sniffed slightly. Ianto pulled her closer and rubbed her back.

"What do you mean…training?" Asked Owen. "Surely you learned to fly when you grew your wings."

"No. I wasn't 'fledged' as they said. The strain could have damaged my wings. I learnt to fly at the age of 17, when I stopped growing." Pointed out Lily.

Owen thought about it for a second and then agreed.

"Makes sense, birds do it."

"So how old are you Lily?" Asked Tosh, the others leaned forward to listen.

"17, I had my first lesson on the day that I was captured. I do remember something else too." She stopped and raked her brains.

"As I was training I saw a large silver space craft coming into the atmosphere. The scientists thought it was a German bomb so they scattered…and left me. I could see the craft better because I was in the air. It was pulled in too, it should be here by now."

The others stared at her; Jack fumbled with his wrist communicator.

"She's right, just landed in an industrial estate 5 miles from here." Jack leaned back.

"What did it look like?" Asked Ianto. Lily looked up at him.

"Like a smooth piece of metal, pointed at the nose. It was flying pretty fast."

Jack got up and walked round to the other end of the table.

"Well, we should go greet our new friends. Gwen, Owen, Tosh, you're with me. Ianto, do you wanna come too? And Lily"

Ianto looked down at Lily, then to Jack and nodded. Lily smiled and nodded too.

It was a tight squeeze in the SUV, so Ianto and Lily followed in Ianto's car. Jack kept on the comms to make sure that Ianto knew what they were facing.

Tosh had given Lily a PDA so that she could feed through pictures of alien ships that fitted the description Lily had given. They scrolled through a few, before Lily pointed at a Mahorven (May-hore-ven) ship. Jack had sped up as soon as they knew what they were dealing with. Mahorvens were known for their violent tendencies.

The two cars pulled up alongside the ship. It was exactly as Lily had said. Shiny metal and pointed at the nose. Smoke was billowing from beneath the craft.

Jack and the others in the SUV scrambled out and positioned themselves in a tight semi-circle around the nose. Jack paced around the craft, waiting for the occupants to emerge.

Ianto and Lily were on strict instructions to stay in Ianto's car and act as back up. Lily had said on the trip that she was trained with basic firearms. Jack had expected this and given Ianto an extra gun. Lily cradled the metal barrel in her hands. Ianto patted her arm, keeping his eyes fixed on Jack.

Suddenly, part of the nose came away and a bright light billowed from the entrance.

A single figure stepped into the light. Jack and the others trained their guns onto the figure. Jack spoke to the creatures in a strange language. Ianto pulled out his PDA and translated.

"_Why are you on Earth, we don't want any trouble." _

The creature replied back in the same tongue. It was a thin and whispy looking thing, it had three long fingers on each hand, they curled into long claws. The body was thin and tall, at least 10 feet tall.

"_You are the ones that have us un-armed. We have not attempted to attack you." _

Jack chuckled at this.

"Like I'll believe that! Your claws are enough weapons for the human race. Now I won't ask again…why are you here?"

The creature laughed, or what sounded like a laugh. Then sprang at Jack, who shot at the creature. It fell dead on the ground at his feet. More of the creatures jumped out.

Suddenly Lily was out of Ianto's car, running to help. She shot at the creatures, each time hitting a direct point. Ianto ran to help at the same time. The creatures stopped coming and the team sighed in relief.

Jack turned to look at Lily, he smiled.

"Great work Lily, good aim." Jack commented, he stepped over various bodies that Lily had shot. Each had a bullet square between the eyes, a 'killing shot' as Jack had once said.

Suddenly the bodies burst into flames and disappeared into fine dust. With a passing wind they blew away.

Jack got up and walked to the SUV.

"That's what I like about the Mahorvens, they turn to dust when they die, no clean up for us."

Ianto walked up to the craft and looked at it, there was a small, neon, blue light emitting from one of the sides.

Suddenly a thin dart shot out at Ianto and hit him in the neck. Jack turned at the sound and cried out.

"IANTO!" The others ran over to Ianto.

He clutched the dart and began to sink to his knees, Lily began to cry.

"Ianto…Ianto can you hear me. Stay with me ok." Warned Jack.

Ianto looked up at Jack, then to Lily. His eyes fluttered closed and his body slumped in Jack's arms.

They were fast getting him back to the Hub, Jack had paced for ages while Owen battled to save Ianto. He kicked himself for forgetting that the Mahorvens kept poison darts on the outside to deter enemies.

Gwen had asked if he would be ok. He had simply looked at the floor, then slumped to his knees, pulling his hair with his hands.

"…The poison is deadly, we have three hours to get an antidote…or."

He didn't finish, he simply leaned forwards then suddenly bellowing at the ceiling.

Oh dear, I seem to have left it at a cliffie…(tuts) next chapter soon. R&R please.


	4. Sitting Back

AN: Here you go the next chapter in which…oh hold on you have to read it to find out.

Chapter 4

Sitting back

Owen had done all he could in the first half an hour. Ianto was connected to all manner of machines…simply to keep him alive.

Heart monitor, ventilator, dialysis and many other contraptions that beeped and whirred softly. The only noise in the Hub.

Jack was pacing in his office; at intervals he would sigh loudly and lean against the walls. He had punched the wall a couple of times, earning him two broken bones and an angry red bruise on his knuckles. Owen had patched him up, Jack had kept silent. He would usually moan and groan to Gwen for sympathy, but he had simply stared at Ianto's lifeless form.

Tosh was stabbing furiously at her keyboard. Owen had pulled a sample from the dart and had given it to Tosh. She was now running a program to get an antidote. She was also silent, on occasion she would get up and check on Ianto but he had simply got worse then better.

Gwen was sat next to Ianto; she had intertwined her fingers with his and was rubbing the back of his hand. Owen had said that his body had gone into a coma to heal; though human contact would keep his mind on track.

Owen was helping Tosh. It was strange seeing Owen work for once. His brow was furrowed as he experimented with samples and checked on Ianto at 10-minute intervals. He had sworn loudly when Ianto's heart had stopped briefly, and promised that if he survived…Owen would kill him personally.

Ianto's condition had deteriorated in the first 20-minutes of being back at the Hub. Jack had sworn loudly as the machines that Ianto was hooked up to screeched. Ianto now had another machine helping his heart beat. The ventilator pumped air through his lungs and other machines kept his other organs stable. He had woken up briefly, he mumbled something but collapsed into a violent fit that scared Lily and made her scream in terror.

Lily was sat in the corner, watching Ianto slowly ebb away. Tears streamed down her cheeks in silent remorse. She had sung softly after Ianto's heart scare, Gwen had laid a hand on her shoulder but Lily continued to sing. She paced past him at times, others she would talk to him softly. Gwen did the same, trying to encourage Ianto to come back.

Suddenly Tosh cried out in triumph.

"I've done it! I have the antidote!"

The others ran to her station as she pulled out the sheet of paper from her printer. Owen snatched it from her and read it fast.

He bolted to his stores, his lab coat billowing behind him. He vaulted over the railing and flung open the cupboard doors.

He grabbed vial after vial and threw them into a beaker. He shook it vigorously and extracted a syringeful. Owen looked up at the others from the rail. They all had the same look on their faces. The look of silent prayer.

Owen gulped and injected the concoction. Then he stepped back and watched each machine in turn.

"Now come on Ianto…you're not dying that easily…that's my job mate." Grumbled Owen. After 2 minutes, something came up on the screen and Owen smiled.

"It's…working. He's coming back."

Jack ran both hands through his hair, relief filled his body. He laughed once and then again. Tosh and Gwen followed; he held each of them and laughed again and again.

Lily stood next to Ianto's form. Slowly Owen turned off machines that had once kept Ianto alive. Owen smiled with each machine that was turned off.

Suddenly Ianto turned his head to the side and groaned softly. The others perked up; Jack hurried down the stairs to Ianto. Lily was stroking a stray hair from his face and whispering to him.

"Ianto, wake up Ianto."

He looked at her, his eyes blood-shot. They darted from side to side, then focused on Lily. He squinted slightly.

"What…what happened?" Croaked Ianto, he stared bleary eyed at the rest of the team. The smiling faces confused him. He attempted to get up but his body protested. He groaned again and riffled a hand through his hair.

He saw Jack standing by the bed, he smiled weakly and waved. Jack raised his hand slowly and waved back. Jack walked forward and pulled Ianto into a tight embrace, he laughed softly into Ianto's neck.

Jack helped Ianto to sit up; he clung to Jack's shoulders and swayed dangerously. He soon found his balance, but was promptly grabbed round the neck by Lily in a neck-snapping hug. She was sobbing softly into his neck and giving him a prompt telling off for almost dying.

"If you EVER do that again I _will _have to shoot you." He chuckled weakly and cuddled Lily back.

Gwen and Tosh had both given him the same treatment, even Owen seemed to be happy that he was alive and Jack hadn't stopped smiling since Ianto had woken up.

"Please tell me that Ianto will be alright soon…cuz I hate over stewed coffee." Moaned Tosh, Gwen agreed vigorously. The others chuckled.

"How long was I out for, had to be a while for them two to be moaning for caffeine." Chortled Ianto.

They stopped laughing.

"The poison that was in the dart would have killed you in three hours, you were out for 2 hours and 59 minutes. Another minute and…" Admitted Jack. He didn't finish; he simply pulled Ianto into an embrace and muttered that he will never let Ianto out of his sight ever again.

Ianto was confined to the sofa near the autopsy room. He had grumbled and moaned that the best thing for him would to walk around and do something. Jack and Owen had looked at each other and given him the same reply.

"No fucking way!" They had said in unison.

Owen had laughed and asked Ianto if he had OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). Ianto had shook his head vigorously, but was met by combined sceptical looks from Jack and Owen.

He was told that he could walk around later and could have as much coffee as he liked. Which he declined. He said that he would rather drink sewer water.

"That can be arranged mate." Admitted Owen. Jack roared with laughter.

"I think that would be the better option 'doc', 'specially' if you insist on making it.

"This time Ianto laughed, the girls sat around the room giggled into their hands. Owen blushed and stormed off. Ianto leaned back in the sofa and sighed in pleasure at the fact that he had the day off.

Happy that Ianto was all right, Jack ruffled his hair and walked off. Ianto suddenly realised that he wasn't wearing his suit. Instead he had a large, white, baggy T-shirt. He recognised it as Jack's. Also he was supporting a pair of light blue jeans that seemed to fit nicely. He shuddered at the fact that they were Owen's.

'_Jack's right' _thought Ianto. _'Owen is a skinny git'_.

The others worked silently to cover the alien spacecraft. Tosh had used a satellite-guided laser to destroy the craft. Torchwood would usually salvage the craft and adapt it for their own uses. But since the craft had hurt Ianto, Jack wanted it blown to bits. All Tosh had to do now was ret-con the guy that owned the plot of barren land.

Gwen was creating a story for the police, easy work since the place had all manner of junk already there. She had come up with the story that a French film artist was using the site for his latest masterpiece. As soon as the police heard the words 'French' and 'film', they washed their hands of the incident and sulked off with their tails between their legs.

Jack was talking on the phone to the weird Scottish bloke that ran Torchwood Glasgow. He was chuckling at intervals; Gwen walked past the office at one point to ask Owen about a recent autopsy that she was curious about.

Jack had seen her and mouthed 'help me' and make a circling motion with his finger near his ear. Then made a gesture that looked like he was hanging himself.

Gwen giggled and poked Owen. Owen looked at Jack and grinned, he turned fully to face Jack and made to pull out an imaginary shotgun and shot Jack. Jack pulled the amateur dramatics and held at the place where Owen had aimed.

He then began to talk on the phone again. With a swift goodbye he put the phone down. He slumped onto the desk and began to bang his head sharply on the desk. Gwen and Owen burst into fits of laughter. Jack continued to smack his head on the desk, while holding up the finger to them both.

Lily was sat with Ianto; she had curled her legs underneath her and was leaning on Ianto's shoulder. She was learning about the past that she had missed while floating through the Rift. Ianto was glad of her company. The others would cast a glance over every few minutes. It was like they couldn't believe he was there.

Toshiko was forced to make a coffee run; she brought Ianto a hot chocolate just the way he liked it. Sitting back and watching the action close up was a strange experience for Ianto. Usually he would stand from the rails near the boardroom and keep the coffee flowing, that way he avoided ill-mannered team members and the odd hissy fit from Jack.

Ianto had always felt left out, apart from that time in the country. He shuddered at the thought. He still had scars on his wrists from the metal handcuffs and the nightmares were still frequent enough for him to dread sleeping.

Jack was supportive, if Ianto fell asleep at the Hub; Jack would sit by him if it looked like he was having a bad dream.

Lily was fast asleep next to Ianto now. Gwen cast a glance over and mouthed 'Awww' as she saw Lily. Ianto looked down and shrugged his shoulders. Gwen made a gesture of child-like kissing. Ianto screwed up his nose like a 9-year-old and stuck his out his tongue in protest. She giggled and gestured if he wanted a re-fill. He declined and snuggled into the sofa, sleep washing over him.

Jack decided that Ianto would be strong enough to answer some questions. He looked over to where he was sat and saw the two sleeping on the sofa. He snorted with laughter.

He walked over and shook Ianto ever so gently. Ianto stared at Jack with a puzzled look.

"I need to ask you some questions Yan." Whispered Jack, he didn't want Lily to wake up, she looked tired.

"Like what Sir." Asked Ianto, he stifled a yawn with his hand and stretched, pulling himself away from Lily's grasp.

"How do you know about Lily?"

Ianto stopped and looked away.

"Not here, in the boardroom and bring the others. Lily shouldn't hear this." Replied Ianto. He sighed deeply as Jack nodded and walked away.

Jack called the others, who questioned the sudden meeting, when it was obvious no one had done any work since Ianto's near death experience.

Ianto looked at Lily as she shifted in her sleep. He smiled and pulled a white, blonde strand of hair from her face.

'_They need to know, she needs to be protected…from them.' _Thought Ianto, he kissed Lily on the cheek and got up slowly, still weak he made his way up to the boardroom. To warn the team of the impending danger that could take Lily far away.

Ok, that should keep you happy, if not here is a taster of the next chapter.

"_I won't let you Lily. They'll kill you and I won't let you go…I can't." Cried Ianto._

_Lily turned, her wings spread. Her feet were teetering over the edge. _

"_I can't let you take the fall for my actions. I'm sorry." She fell._

_Ianto cried out and struggled against Jack. He couldn't let her go…not like the last time, not like Lisa._

Tune in next week for

'Chapter 5'

'Fugitive'

R&R


	5. Fugitive

AN: I had a brainwave as I fell asleep last night. It took me a while to formulate the story. Sorry it's late but I have had serious family problems that have shattered my concentration. If the ending seems a little emo this is how I feel right now. Sorry its really late.

Chapter 5

Fugitive

Ianto sat at the boardroom table; they were all waiting for him to begin. He sighed deeply and looked over his hands.

"I couldn't sleep one night after…Lisa." He stopped and looked away; Jack put a hand on his forearm. He nodded and continued.

"So I came into the Hub and thought that I would sort out the archives. I still haven't managed to sort it all out. There's so much. I read about Lily a week ago. It shocked me to know that _we _had done that to an innocent girl."

Ianto cast a glance down to the sofa where Lily was sleeping.

"There is a piece of information that she doesn't know yet. She has a tracker on her. When she disappeared, they figured out what had happened and prepared for her return. There is a secret part of Torchwood that little is known about. They are trained to catch Lily and continue her preparations for war."

Ianto looked up at the team. They were open-mouthed, startled by what Ianto had said.

"If I'm right in thinking they already know she's here. We have to keep them away. Otherwise they can use her primary function against us." Mused Jack. He was leaning back in his chair.

Suddenly alarm bells echoed through the Hub. Tosh grabbed her PDA and accessed the CCTV screens.

"We have a breach. All security systems shutting down." She called as they all rushed down the stairs to the main doors.

Lily sat bolt upright on the sofa. He eyes opened wide as she saw the CCTV screen on Tosh's computer.

"They have come for me!" She cried, jumping from the sofa she ran to the doors.

Jack grabbed her and pulled her back. He grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"They know you're here but they can't take you away, we won't let that happen."

Lily looked up at Jack as tears filled her eyes.

"Promise?" She asked in a small, child-like tone of voice. Jack nodded and pulled her close.

Ianto, Tosh and Gwen were hacking back into the mainframe of the Hub's security system. Tosh yelled out commands to Ianto, who relayed them to the Hub computers. Gwen was attempting to piece together the CCTV images and I.D them.

Owen was entering the codes for a full lockdown. He stood in front of a voice-activated interface. He was barking commands at the interface for clearance. Suddenly the Hub went into self-induced lockdown. Owen then bolted to his station and began to help Gwen with her searching.

Jack had guided Lily back to the sofa and sat her down. He then headed over to Ianto and stared at the flashing computer screen.

"So…where are they?" He asked, still staring at the screen.

Ianto tapped at an icon, a small screen popped up. It was fuzzy and flitted from time to time, but three figures could be seen lurking four levels down in the Hub. Two had weapons, the third looked older than the others.

"What do we do?" Enquired Tosh, she had wandered over after the Hub locked down.

"Well, we can't re-open the Hub for…three hours…," said Jack looking at his watch. "So we need to _entertain _our guests for a while."

Lily was rocking backwards and forwards, muttering to herself. Gwen caught sight of her.

"Lily? Are you alright?"

Lily shook her head violently. Ianto perked up and walked over to Lily. She immediately curled up beside him and continued her mutterings.

Alarm bells rang again and the three figures fired shots at the team. Some how they had sneaked into the main Hub area without the others seeing them. Jack hollered at the others to duck down as he drew his Webley and fired back at the intruders.

Owen had pulled Gwen sharply to the floor and covered her body with his chest. He cast a glance to Tosh. She had bolted from her desk and was cowering near Jack's office.

Owen then scanned for Ianto and Lily. He saw Lily covering Ianto with her wings. The bullets re-bounded off them, like they were made of metal. Owen caught sight of Lily's eyes…they were trained on the intruders. Her fear was gone now; all that was left was sheer anger that the intruders wanted to hurt the team.

She slipped her had to Ianto's side and withdrew the firearm. Ianto understood what she was going to do and slunk behind the sofa. She then cried out to the intruders.

While the others had hidden Jack had fired round after round at the three intruders.

Suddenly Lily's cry stopped the onslaught.

"STOP!"

The intruders smiled and trained their guns on Lily.

"We have been looking for you." Said the eldest of the three.

Lily grimaced at the figure. Her voice no longer had a childlike quality; it was strong and filled with fury.

"Dr Woodrow, so good to see you again. I would have expected you to have passed on by now…but wishes never come true. Do they?" Sarcasm bubbled through her speech.

Dr Woodrow smiled wider.

"Ah, you still have that fiery personality. We always thought that you had a child's personality, but when faced with danger that gene kicks in. That gene that we added in your creation. What was it called? Oh well. Stop this madness and come quietly, or your friends will suffer." He growled, his expression had changed. He trained his gun over each of the cowering members and Jack.

Jack edged next to Lily, his gun switching aim from one of the other intruders to the other.

"So how old are you? You were old in the forties. You gotta be over 100 years old." Asked Lily.

Dr Woodrow chuckled softly.

"I always aimed to cure ageing. With all my experiments I had an accident and I discovered the cure. I am 104 and I don't look a day over 50. Sadly all my notes were destroyed in the accident, but no matter. I have no intention of making a cure for the rest of man-kind." He sneered.

Lily chuckled and smiled at the doctor.

"Just like you Woody, insensitive as usual. I did miss that humour of yours."

The doctor's face changed, the smile was replaced by anger.

"You will come with me now…" The doctor began, then Ianto cried out in fear. Lily and the others turned at the sound and gasped in horror.

While they had been listening to the doctor, his goons had sneaked round to where Ianto was. One of then now had a revolver to his head. The safety catch clicked open and the goon prepared to fire. He grinned and showed many yellow or missing teeth

Lily's eyes widened. She aimed the gun at the goon, but her face was different. Like she didn't want to shoot. The fear was back in her eyes.

"…Or your friend will find out what it is like to have a shard of metal blown through his frontal lobe."

Lily's arm shook; her eyes welled with tears.

"You wouldn't _dare_." Her voice cracked as she spoke. The doctor smiled.

"Oh I think I would" He snapped his fingers and the goon pushed the gun closer to Ianto's head. Ianto whimpered. He looked at Lily and shook his head.

"You hate to use weapons Lily, we know that. You can't stand to hurt people…that's why you were such a failure!" Woodrow yelled, like he was talking to a child.

"Just shoot them Lily, do it now." Ianto croaked.

Lily's hand shook again, and then she dropped the gun and turned to the doctor.

"Leave them alone, it's me you want. They don't deserve this." She turned and smiled weakly at Jack. He shifted on his feet and put his Webley down.

The goon threatening Ianto threw him to the floor. The goon then ran over to Lily and forced her into a rusty pair of handcuffs. Jack pulled Ianto to his feet then looked back at the invading party.

"What are you going to do now? The Hub is in lockdown, we can't open the systems for 3 hours." Called Jack, he flashed his trademark smile, with a hint of anger.

Doctor Woodrow smiled coyly and sauntered over towards the closed doors, he then turned and pressed a device. The Hub immediately opened; Jack walked forward and broke the silence.

"How did you do that? We have the best security ever made."

Dr Woodrow smiled.

"I created Torchwood Cardiff, so I know the security in here like the back of my hand. If anyone follows us I will activate the self destruct mechanism on this place and blow it sky high." He sneered.

The doors closed and the shocked team were left in an eerie silence.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside. There were cries of anger and pain, then three shots rung out and there were cries of surprise. The team looked at each other and followed the noise. Outside the Hub they saw that Dr Woodrow and his goons were face down in the water fountain. The two goons had bullets through their heads; Dr Woodrow had a bullet through the chest. Lily was no where to be seen.

Suddenly Jack saw a flash of white on the top of the Golden building near the fountain.

They all ran and climbed to the top of the building, puffing and panting Jack pushed open the top floor door. Sat on the edge, with her legs dangling over the edge, was Lily.

Her wings were open; she was leaning back on her elbows, humming a cheery tune. She turned as the team approached her.

"There will be more people coming to get me, I have to get away. Hide somewhere. No idea where yet though." She chuckled sadly and turned back to the horizon. The sun was setting slowly. The burnt red of the sky slowly dulling into black.

Ianto walked forward and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. She didn't turn to him. She placed her hand on his and stroked the top with her thumb.

"We can protect you, they can't hurt you if we hide you down in the Hub. Like Jack said we have the best security and we can upgrade to help you." Ianto pleaded.

Lily smiled.

"I was cooped up in that place for 19 years, that's all I remember. I want to get away and not be held down. You understand…right?" Lily turned and looked at Ianto.

Her face was set. Ianto knew that he couldn't stop her, but he didn't want her to go. He had grown to like her. He knew what it was like to be alone, to feel that you were never free.

"I…understand." Stammered Ianto, he got up and backed away from Lily. A gentle breeze ruffled the thin material that covered Lily. She raised her wings higher.

Each wing was the same length as her body. She breathed deeply and smiled, she then turned to the team and waved.

"Thanks for helping me out. I promise I'll come back. I just want to explore for a bit."

Suddenly there was a large explosion. Lily and the team were thrown to the ground.

Jack rushed to the edge and looked for the source of the explosion. He saw a large tank; the barrel was trained where Lily had been sat. She and Ianto joined Jack at the edge. Tosh, Owen and Gwen groaned from behind them.

Lily's eyes widened in terror as the tank aimed yet again.

"Come with us Lily" Barked a voice from inside the tank.

On the side of the tank, there was an all too familiar logo printed.

"UNIT!" Called Jack. He ran his hands through his hair as the driver surfaced from the tank.

"I guess they called in reinforcements." Sighed Lily. She flew up into the air and swooped over the soldier in the tank. She pulled the helmet from his head and teased him.

"What's up mate…you have to jump for it!" She giggled shrilly and flew off towards the bay.

While Lily had been playing with the UNIT soldier, Jack and the others had run back to ground level and were passing the tank. The soldier called them to stop.

They ignored him, in basic training Torchwood were told that UNIT were pompous windbags that could go fuck themselves. As Tosh passed she fitted a device to the tank, it bleeped and went to work on disabling the tank.

The soldier shouted obscenities to the team as they jogged to where Lily was swooping and diving over the water. The team was in awe of her skill.

"What is it like to fly?" Called Ianto to Lily, she was giggling like a schoolgirl.

"Well…it's like…flying! Obvious isn't it!" She laughed.

Suddenly the soldiers cried stopped. But a different noise followed…the loading of a very large gun.

The team turned all too late to see the gun loaded and aimed straight at Lily. Ianto cried out and turned back to Lily.

She hovered over the water and her eyes grew wide as she saw the barrel of the military weapon aimed at her. Jack ran to the soldier and shifted the gun slightly as the barrel exploded.

It was like the whole event was in slow motion. Lily's body snapped backwards as the bullet flew through her abdomen. She looked at the others as she fell into the depths of the cold water.

Ianto and the others bolted for the water. Ianto slipped off his jacket as he ran and jumped into the water like an Olympic swimmer.

With expert strokes he was near Lily as her head disappeared under the waves. He ducked down under and followed her, he reached with desperation for her hand. She looked up at him slowly…

Tune in next time. R&R

Next week 

_Chapter 6_

Drowning 


	6. Drowning

AN: Hi there happy readers. I loved the reviews that you left really made me smile so here is the next chapter from the keyboard of Fangirl 104.

Chapter 6

Drowning

Jack smashed the soldier over the head with his elbow. He fell to the floor unconscious, Jack whipped round and ran with the rest of the team. Ahead of him Ianto had thrown his jacket to the ground and was swiftly swimming towards Lily. Her fragile body was slipping slowly under the strong current. Owen ran back towards the Hub, Gwen questioned his actions.

"Where are you going?"

"To get blankets and my medi kit, that water's freezing."

Gwen agreed and ran after him.

Tosh and Jack were hovering on the boardwalk, suddenly Ianto dived under the water.

Second after second passed.

"He cant last that long under the water…can he?" Asked Tosh worriedly.

He powered towards Lily, he reached out and clasped her thin hand with his own and dragged her to the surface. He looked back at her pale face, her eyes were closed. This spurred him faster towards the sparkling surface. The light was dancing above him, his lungs burned and his body felt like it was going to explode.

The air burned his throat as he burst from the surface. Lily's eyes were closed, she wasn't breathing.

Jack and Tosh helped Lily out of the water and laid her on the floor, as Ianto pulled himself onto the boardwalk Owen and Gwen were sprinting over. Owen threw his medi bag to the floor and manoeuvred Lily so that her sullen, pale face was pointed towards the dark sky.

He took a deep breath and started CPR. Ianto and the others looked on with pained faces, Jack had wrapped one of the thick blankets around Ianto's shoulders. He shivered silently, Gwen and Tosh behind him were crying softly, Jack had an arm round Ianto. They all stared at the tiny figure laid before them, the area where the bullet had pierced her stomach was red like scarlet silk.

Suddenly Lily coughed and spat out a torrent of water and began breathing on her own. She looked up bleary eyed at the team and smiled. Then her face contorted in pain and she fell unconscious. Owen patched up the angry wound as best he could.

Ianto scooped Lily into his arms and ran to the Hub; Owen was close behind along with Tosh and Gwen. Jack jogged over to the unconscious soldier and slung him over his shoulder.

Down in the main Hub area Owen was frantically fighting to save Lily. The bullet had pierced many vital organs and she was loosing too much blood. Various machines that she was hooked up to blared at him, she was dying…fast.

Ianto shivered violently once again, Gwen passed him a mug of coffee and sat beside him. Jack was pacing in his office again, he was waiting for the soldier to wake up. Toshiko was sat at her station chewing her nails. They could hear the commotion that was happening, they just couldn't face the harsh reality that Lily might die.

It felt like hours had passed when Owen emerged from the medical bay. He looked exhausted and gaunt (more than usual). They all looked up at him waiting for his response. He slumped into his chair by his station and ran his hands through his hair. He rested his head in his hands.

"She's comfortable, the damage that the bullet did is extensive but I've sorted out most of the lacerations. The next 24 hours are critical…at this point she might not even survive till morning." Owen looked up from his hands at the team. Their faces were full of pain and sadness.

Owen hauled himself from his seat and walked over to Ianto. He checked him over and then sat on the floor leaning against the sofa. Luckily Ianto hadn't caught hypothermia from his dip in the bay.

"Can I go see her?" Croaked Ianto.

Owen turned to Ianto and nodded. "Just don't wake her up."

Ianto nodded and headed to the medical bay. The scene that greeted him stopped Ianto at the doorway.

Lily was connected to the same machines as Ianto not 24 hours earlier. The rasp of the ventilator brought back horrible memories of Lisa.

He sat beside her on the small wooden chair next to the bed. He clasped her pale hand in his own. Her eyes fluttered open and scanned the room; Ianto smiled as her eyes found his face. She smiled back and shifted uncomfortably.

"How d'you feel?" Asked Ianto.

Lily shifted again. "My head hurts a little, where am I?"

"Back in the Hub. Owen sorted out the bullet wound, you'll be fine."

Lily chuckled weakly. "No I wont, I can feel myself going. But I'll be free Ianto, like flying. They can't get me when I'm dead."

Ianto was shocked to hear such things from a woman so young." Don't talk like that, you're getting better. Owen said…"

Ianto stopped. "You asked him to say that…didn't you."

Lily chuckled again. "You catch on fast, he dosed me on painkillers so I don't feel a thing. I haven't long Yan."

Ianto's eyes welled with tears as Lily coughed violently. The machine beside her began to flash and screech, her heart rate was falling fast.

"I'll be free Ianto…free…as…a bird." She gasped.

"Noooo" Moaned Ianto as he clutched her hand tighter. She shook her head and squeezed his hand back.

"Thank you…Ianto Jones." Her eyes fluttered shut and her breath rasped, suddenly the heart machine flat-lined. Her grip on Ianto's hand loosened.

Owen and the others bolted into the small room. Owen pulled out a crash trolley and began shocking her. With each jolt of her small frame Ianto flinched. Jack was holding Tosh and Gwen, who silently sobbed on his shoulder.

Jack flicked on the low light and sat back in the wooden chair. Before him was the soldier, the bright light stung his eyes and he cringed back. The handcuffs around his wrists prevented any movement.

On Jack's left were Tosh and Gwen, behind him was Owen. Behind the soldier sat Ianto, he was precariously sat on the radiator. His eyes were red raw, not unlike the other members of the team.

"Alright. Talk. What's your name?" Asked Jack, his rough voice breaking the silence.

The soldier opened his eyes and stared at the scene before him. He spat at Jack and leaned into the hard wood of his chair smiling.

"Make me." He taunted.

Jack wiped his face with his hand and grinned back.

"Fine…" he growled through his teeth."…You asked for it." Jack flipped a switch on his wrist device. The soldier cried out in pain as electricity pulsed through his flesh.

Jack was satisfied that the soldier had understood the situation and turned off the device.

"Now I won't ask again. What is your name? That woman you shot died you insolent bastard!" Shouted Jack. "Now talk!"

The soldier picked his head up from his chest and looked at Jack.

"Sergeant Ryan Ford. I was sent here to disable the experiment on behalf of UNIT."

Ianto slipped from the radiator and walked forwards. He grabbed a handful of the soldier's hair in his hand and yanked it back with great force. The soldier groaned in pain and looked up at Ianto's determined face.

"Where is the base? Lily talked about a secret organisation that branches off from Torchwood. Where is it?"

"The co-ordinates are on this file, in my pocket."

Ianto let go of the soldier and found the disk. He threw it to Toshiko. She put it into her laptop and pulled up the location.

"I've patched through the co-ordinates to the SUV."

Jack got up and walked up the stairs to the door, he stopped and allowed the others to pass, all except Ianto. He handed him his Webley revolver.

"You should get the honour." He then looked at the soldier. "That woman was innocent…I hope you burn in hell."

Jack left the room and followed Gwen, Tosh and Owen to the SUV. As he reached the other end of the Hub he heard the gun ring out. His face remained unchanged.

Ianto looked at the soldier, his brains all over the wall. "That was for Lily." He spat at the dead body. He turned and ran to join the others in the SUV.

The team stayed silent, in memory of the young woman that had died too young.

Next time.

Chapter 7

In the belly of the beast.

R&R


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